Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal 'keep working' on important deal as 'long-term' claim made

Arsenal are working on a deal to tie down emerging star Ethan Nwaneri to a new long-term contract, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Nwaneri has already scored four goals this season and is starting to establish himself as a regular member of the senior Gunners squad. He made his debut back in September 2022 against Brentford, at the age of just 15 years and 181 days. That saw him become the second youngest player in Premier League history. Now, according to Romano, Arsenal are working on securing the youngster to a long-term deal - despite the club currently operating without a sporting director after the surprise departure of Edu.

Posting on social media, Romano said: “Arsenal keep working on new deal for Ethan Nwaneri while their search for director continues. Talks with Nwaneri over new long term contract are considered a priority, club optimistic to get it done.”

The player came off the bench on Tuesday night as Arsenal hammered Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in their latest Champions League outing. He has already been publicly praised by Mikel Arteta who said it is ‘rare’ to see such talent from somebody of his age.

The Arsenal boss said earlier this month: "It is rare to see a talent like this at 17, that's true. When he made his debut in the Premier League there was a lot of talk about it. We didn't do it as a gift, we did it because we knew the pathway we wanted to build with him and we wanted to send him a really strong sign about how much we trust him and how much we wanted him to stay with us.

"The biggest thing is to push him and then when he is pushing you grab him from behind to make sure he is stable and protected. This talent you have to push him. Protection is necessary, keeping an eye on him, but he needs to see that he can go and fly and not cut his wings. I can talk about how good he is right now and the position he is at, at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, sums up really well the level he has. What happens in the future is going to depend on him and how much he wants it. At the moment he wants it a lot and he is surrounded by the right people. The crystal ball to see what he is going to be in two or three years, no. My prediction is going to be very positive."